


If There be Thorns

by Blaxis



Category: Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny
Genre: Crime, Drama, Drug Use, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family, Incest, Mental Instability, Physical Abuse, Police, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape, Self-Harm, Sibling Incest, Underage Drinking, Underage Sex, Violence, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-21 20:54:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9566024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blaxis/pseuds/Blaxis
Summary: AU. They lived in a dark world where it was hard to breathe, but never did they imagine that all they needed was a soft hand to hold. The descent into hell is easy; all it takes is a little push.





	1. People are Strange

 

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed/GS Destiny, it owns me.**

**Warning: lemon!**

**Theme Song: Massive Attack** – **Angel.**

* * *

**Chapter One: People are Strange**

"Kira catch!"

Upon hearing the sudden call, the brunette who was walking in the college's campus turned around to be met with a basket ball. Luckily for him, he had good reflexes and caught it before it hit him.

"What the hell!?" growled Kira, "it almost broke my nose, Athrun!"

The bluenette laughed out, "As if! I threw it lightly." Approaching his friend, Athrun raised his hand for a high five, which Kira gladly hit with his own.

"Happy birthday, bro! That's your present." Athrun declared as he pointed at the ball Kira was holding.

Looking confused the brunette snapped, "You fucking with me?" analyzing the present he continued, "This filthy old basket ball is my best friend's present?"

"Watch your words! Take a good look at it, it is signed." The bluenette corrected, nodding his head.

Gasping, Kira turned around the ball searching for the said signature; he was excited.

Was it one of those rare balls signed by famous player? As known by everyone, Kira Hibiki, son of Ulen Hibiki CEO of the _'Hibiki Corp.'_ adored basketball. But as the heir to his father's business, he only played it for fun –though he wanted to go professional. And purchasing and collecting rare signed basket balls were one of his many hobbies.

Finding the signature, his excitement faded away when he read 'Athrun'.

"What are you doing Athrun?" he deadpanned.

"That is the rarest ball of all times, 'cause this is the only ball I've ever signed." He proudly confessed.

"What makes you think I want a ball with your signature?"

"Because I am hot?"

An awkward silence followed, which was broken by a 'click'.

"Your face is priceless!" Athrun laughed after taking a picture of his best friend's face with his smart phone.

"I'm leaving…" Sighed the other, dumping the ball.

Trying to cease his laugh, Athrun caught his friend's pace and put an arm on his shoulder, "I was joking, chill out!"

"Not really in the mood; I had a fight with mom this morning."

"Ouch! Be ready for aunt Caridad's fury when you go back home." Athrun grimaced.

They continued their walk, talking about everything and nothing; as long as Kira remembers, Athrun Zala was his bestfriend. Their respective fathers had worked together many times, which resulted in both boys spending time together since their childhood days.

Athrun was Patrick Zala's sole son and heir to his company _'Zala Shipping Corp.'_ just like Kira, with whom he was studying at Zaft College; and this year was their last. The bluenette was the complete opposite of Kira, and people always wondered how they came to be friends. Truth to be told, even Kira asked himself the same question. Athrun was a reserved person; he was composed, calm, secretive, and tidy. He was not the type of person who easily showed their emotions, especially sadness.

Hibiki on the other hand was a hurricane; he was compulsive and very emotional, but nonetheless, very respectful.

As they both walked to the main building of the campus, Athrun noticed a very familiar pinkette coming in their direction.

"Here comes the shiny rose!" whispered Athrun to his friend, making the latter stiffen.

"Damn it." Kira responded when he finally noticed the girl approaching them.

They both stopped in their tracks and waited for the young girl to catch up with them; like always, people could not help but look at her with loving eyes.

"Good morning, Kira, Athrun." She acknowledged with her usual beaming smile, "Happy birthday! May your happiness be eternal!"

"Thank you dear." Kira faked a smile as he kissed her hand.

Athrun, the third wheel, stood there holding laughter as he watched the fake persona of his friend talking to the loved shining star of the public.

Lacus Clyne was a famous singer loved by the entire population; daughter of Siegel Clyne who owned the ancestral _Clyne Hospital._ In their family's traditions, the firstborn had always been raised to be a doctor, so that they would inherit the hospital. Yet, the elder daughter, Lacus, was not a doctor nor did she intend to inherit her ancestors' business. Thus, it was her younger twin sister who would.

On top of that, she was also, Kira's _fiancée_. Much to the latter's disapproval.

True, she was the incarnation of love, beauty and kindness itself; but Kira couldn't bring himself to see her as a love interest.

His heart belonged to another.

Athrun knew all about Kira's situation, and knew perfectly the pinkette's feelings for the brunette –who ignored that her love was not reciprocated; and he could do nothing but watch his friend being torn apart, and Lacus's reaction if she ever found out about the truth.

Deciding to give Kira some rest he stepped into their discussion, "You're coming for Kira's birthday party, right?"

Her face brightened, "Of course I am! I would never miss it." Joining her hands to her chest.

"Great!" smiled Athrun at Kira's puzzled face and put his hand on his shoulder, "So see you there, I guess! Kira and I have class now, we better get going."

Kira kissed her on the cheek, "Later, Lacus," and both men left before she could respond leaving her confused.

Watching his figure disappearing in the crowd, Lacus touched the cheek he kissed and smiled to herself, "Yes, see you later."

As soon as they left the pink princess Kira sighed, running a hand through his chocolate colored hair, "Thanks for saving me, man."

"It's always a pleasure." He responded without his casual smile, then asked after a short silence, "why don't you just break it off?"

"You know that I can't. Our fathers are business partners; my father said I could do what I want as long as she doesn't find out." Kira scratched the back of his head.

"Kira, you know she will find out, and that it will destroy her!" reprimanded the bluenette.

"Spare me your rhetoric, please! We've discussed this many times."

Right, Athrun was nothing than a spectator.

He could do nothing.

"What's with the frowning face, Choco-boy?" a familiar voice said.

Turning his head toward the source of the voice, Athrun recognized his partner in crime, Dearka Elsman: just your regular hot blond guy with tanned skin that had slept with the entire female population.

"Nothing." He sighed.

"Did the girl of last night dump you?" Dearka narrowed his eyes, grinning.

Athrun wanted to face palm, how in the world did someone like him end up in a college like this?

Oh yes, right! This _prestigious_ College held two specific categories of people: the dumb rich and the smartass. One could easily guess to which category Dearka belonged, right?

And hell no! No girl had ever dumped the Great -Choco-playboy- Athrun, he was the one who dumped her last night.

Athrun, Kira and Dearka were labeled as The Sex Gods –and it was confirmed by their many amorous conquests.

The blond was an animal on heat; he preferred one-night stands and never slept with the same woman twice.

Athrun slept with specific women –he had many tastes–, each woman (never name it a relationship) lasted exactly one month; rumors had it that he forces some rules on his women. No one knew what it was, not even Kira. He was also called 'The Blue Haired Christian Grey'.

Then comes Kira… Oh Kira! The playboy who finally fell in love, cliché may it sound, after many years of breaking girls' hearts, one fortuned woman captured his, luckily for him his feeling were reciprocated.

Simply: Dearka, the beast. Athrun, the mysterious, and Kira, the lover.

"Just shut up, fucker; you're giving me a headache!" growled someone next to him.

"Grumpy as always, Yzak." Kira teased.

"I don't want to hear it from you, Hibiki!"

"Hey there Yzak, I didn't notice you." Athrun deadpanned.

"Are you all trying to anger me?!" growled ever louder the silver head, earning looks from student around them.

"You're already angry, Yzak- _chan~"_ smiled ridiculously Dearka.

Not wanting to commit murder, Yzak simply crushed the cup of tea in his hand.

Teasing Yzak Joule was one of the favorite hobbies of the three men. His short-tempered personality and punch lines were interesting and funny –in their opinion.

Compared to his friends, Yzak was more serious, in studies and everything else; technically he was the smart one of the group –and the less handsome. Yes, poor Yzak Joule; once, he was ranked first at one of Dearka's many silly polls: What guy makes girls runaway faster? Which earned him a bad reputation amongst females, and he actually didn't care one bit. Which resulted in Dearka making another poll: Do you think that Yzak Joule is gay? The result was: YES – 65523 votes / NO – 0 votes.

It all ended happily with Dearka being hospitalized for an interior bleeding and many broken ribs, and Yzak wondering just how many people whom voted actually know him.

The magic about Yzak's sexual life faded a little when his friends discovered that he was dating Shiho Hahnenfuss.

No one knew who she was till that day –thank God she wasn't one of Dearka's women.

Turned out she worked as a waitress at a local café. It was all they knew about her, or more precisely _what Yzak thought they knew about her._

Unknown to Yzak, his friends know some interesting information about her, like the fact that she was their age, that she wanted to enroll into their college but was too poor, that she cohabitated with her friend, that she met Yzak when he was customer at her workplace. The most shocking info they got was the fact that the two lovers were actually in love… that info gave the three men nightmares for numerous days, and wished to never have known about it.

"Anyway, you guys coming tonight, right?" asked Kira eyeing his friends.

"My pride is that I never turn down an invitation to party!" said Dearka eagerly, "I hope you invited some hot chicks!"

"I wish we weren't friends, so that I wouldn't have to come." Muttered Yzak, knowing how Kira's parties were.

"You're speaking as if my parties were bad." Kira responded, emphasizing on the last word.

Bad… Bad… That word couldn't even define how Kira's parties were.

Once, he attended a party Kira hosted at a night club on Christmas Eve; it was crazy.

Literally C.R.A.Z.Y. He remembered vividly the whole thing: Kira making out like a retarded, jumping, dancing and stripping, Dearka going to a VIP lounge to have a threesome, Athrun was crying in a corner with some blonde chick and talking about God knows what; the deafening music and the blinding colors turning and turning made him all nauseous –when he hadn't even drank yet.

On top of that he woke up the next day at midday in one of the rooms of the club half naked. For a moment he thought that he participated in last night's havoc, but then he miraculously remembered something he wished to forget: last night some crazy chicks tried to rape him, and they almost succeeded.

Lucky him, God decided to help him escape the barbarians.

Obviously, the only reason that they weren't the daily newspaper's headlines was because of their fathers –rich men are powerful!

And Yzak felt that tonight's party will be worst. Maybe he should bring Shiho; that way he wouldn't remember unwanted things, since he would spend the entire evening with her.

Yeah, he should bring her… because he knows how comfy the VIP rooms at the club of tonight's party are.

Athrun sweat dropped when he saw the silver head's smirking to himself, and decided that if he stayed there, he would catch his friends' idiocy.

"I'm off guys; I've some stuff to do; see ya tonight."

"Just make sure to be on time, Athrun!" notified Kira as his best friend walked away.

Finally stepping out of the crowded corridors the bluenette sighed and took out his phone from his jean's pocket.

Turning the phone on, the screen displayed the message he had been waiting for all day long: _'The new cargo has arrived; we've put it in the usual warehouse.'_ –Miguel.

Sitting into his expensive orange sports car, he dialed a number,

"Hello, father..."

Walking out of the shower, a certain blonde's mood was crappy; she looked at her grumpy expression on the glass. Waking up by falling off the bed was definitely a bad idea.

She took the towel and started to dry herself as she walked to her bedroom in all her naked glory; she lived alone so she didn't give a crap. Throwing the towel on the ground she proceeded in getting clothed and drying her hair; not bothering to brush it, she simply held it in a ponytail.

Walking to the kitchen, she found pancakes and juice served on the table; she sat and ate even if it was already noon. When finished she put her phone in her pants pocket and walked back to her bedroom, opening the nightstand she reached for a gun that she carefully hid inside the jacket she wore, and went out.

The blonde walked down the road as soon as she got out of the building; it was a sunny spring day, she could smell the sweet scent of flowers mixed with the nasty odor of cars and oil; she despised big cities for being noisy and smelly.

She would've liked to live in a little village, owning a bakery and a little house with a garden full of flowers, a cat or two. But reality was something else. It always came crushing every ounce of dreams and hopes, leaving behind nothing but ashes.

Arriving to destination, she pulled open the backdoor of a local café and walked to the kitchens, yawning.

"Hey." She saluted, "Thanks for the breakfast, Kisaka."

"Good afternoon Cagalli." Smiled the muscled man who was making a cappuccino, "And happy birthday."

"Yeah, thanks." She yawned and proceeded in sitting on the chair by the wall, right next to the counter.

"You woke up late today." He noted continuing his labor.

She growled, picking a candy from the bowl next to her, "You mean early! I've a nightshift today."

Kisaka nodded, remembering tonight's event, "Oh, right. You're going to Kira's birthday party." He knew how much his blonde protégée hated those parties and events. Moreover Kira had always been a difficult subject to talk about with Cagalli.

"Like always." She responded in an irritated tone, picking a different kind of candy.

The man hummed lightly, then asked, moving to the fridge to get a pie. "So, what're you going to do now?"

"Dunno, that's why I'm here," she smirked, "maybe we could–"

"Is the order ready?" interrupted the brunette waitress as she entered the kitchens, and upon seeing Cagalli she cheered, "Cagalli happy birthday!"

Cagalli uneasily smiled as the young woman walked toward her and pushed her up in a tight hug, "Thanks, Shiho."

Physical contact such as that was very odd to Cagalli, it was not something she was used to, but it felt very comforting and loving.

"My boyfriend called me earlier," said Shiho started, forgetting about the customer's order, "he invited me to go with him to his friend's birthday party, which is tonight, but I turned the offer down. So, since we both have nothing to do, I thought that a little outing together would be much better! It's your birthday you should enjoy yourself!"

Her eyes widened; Cagalli felt uneasy at her _friend_ 's sudden proposal because unknown to Shiho, she had an important work tonight, "Um… I…"

"Actually Cagalli had a last minute call; she has to work tonight." Interfered Kisaka, "here is the order, go! The clients are waiting."

She was pulled out of the kitchen, with a plate in her hands, by Kisaka before having the time to properly respond.

Cagalli "That was close." the blonde sighed.

"You should cut off any relation you have Cagalli, you're putting yourself in danger." Kisaka advised, looking at her from the corner of his eyes as he walked back to the counter.

"I know, but it isn't easy to do so when she works at your café, ya' know!" she growled back, "I'm off, see ya."

Kisaka watched the young woman leaving as he sighed, _'I hope you won't get yourself in trouble.'_ And after few minutes Shiho came back, "Cagalli– Huh? Where did she go?"

"She got an urgent call, so she left. She said _'thank you for the offer and sorry I won't make it. Just go out with your boyfriend; he must be crying 'cause you refused his invitation.'_ "

Smiling tenderly the brunette murmured, "Cagalli… must be tough to work as private detective."

Scratching the back of her head, Cagalli's mood was now much worse than an hour ago.

She knew her job didn't allow her to have relationships with normal persons, but still, Shiho worked at Kisaka's café, whom was her partner and subordinate.

It was hard to simply do that, because Shiho was the first person to ever acknowledge her as more than a tool. She had acknowledged her as an actual person who could feel, who had the right to live a life of her own. Regardless, Kisaka had a point, as the more she interacted with her the more Shiho was put in danger –and that was the last thing Cagalli wanted.

The fact that Kira was having a party tonight worsened her mood even more.

Knocking on the door, Amagi heard his boss from the other side of the door telling him to get in. He opened the door, entered and stood as a soldier, which he was a few years ago before retiring because of an injury.

The office was spacious, furnished with a large desk well organized; on its left was an old yet very expensive wooden library full of book of all genres and important documents, comfy sofas and a glass rack containing some bottles of fine wine and trophies.

Next to the window, which was behind the desk, were hanged frames of diplomas and certificates.

It was one of Ulen Hibiki's many offices, yet the one where he felt the most comfortable.

"Your guests have arrived, sir. They are waiting in your personal lounge." Amagi declared without looking at the man in the face.

"Good. You can dispose." Ulen responded, holding a paper in his left hand and drumming on the desk with his right index.

Closing the door behind him, Amagi went to continue his labor.

Getting up from his royal chair he classed one last time some papers and left to join his guests.

Upon opening the door of his personal lounge which was one floor below his office, one of his guests exclaimed, quite annoyed,

"You are finally honoring us with your presence, Ulen."

"He was working, Patrick, and you know it is very hard to leave the paper work, even for one minute." Siegel Clyne intervened with a light laugh to ease up the tension a little.

Not bothering to respond, Ulen walked to the bar and took a fancy bottle of Champagne and started pouring for his _friends._

Patrick Zala was the CEO of the _Zala Shipping Corp._ which he inherited from his father. His only family member left was his son, Athrun; his wife died many years ago, just like his parents and he had no other relatives. He was known to be harsh, successful and punctual, his motto was _, 'I don't like to wait or make people wait.'_

On the other hand, Siegel Clyne was the head of the _Clyne Hospital_ , a private hospital, which was inherited in his family from generation to generation. He also the founder and owner of several orphanages and was known for his kindness and generosity. Just like Patrick his sole family members were his two daughters. The older one was engaged to his son; Lacus was a beautiful fine lady, whom Ulen quite liked.

As for him, Ulen Hibiki was a business man and CEO of the _Hibiki Corp._ in contrary to his two _friends_ , Ulen built his empire alone. He was an orphan that worked hard to finish his studies and start his own business. In his early years he had been laughed at by other successful men, whom he loathed, because they knew nothing of 'working hard' to achieve their goals, while he started from owning nothing to owning everything. And he was proud of himself.

Those two gentlemen were regarded as his friends and successful businessmen; but his hard fruitful work made him felt much more superior to them. Sitting down on the sofa he looked at his friends, smiled, and raised his glass,

"To this beautiful partnership."

His gesture was welcomed and both men raised their glass, repeating his sentence.

Unknown to the world, those three men were also partners.

"So," started Ulen as he put his glass of the low table next to him and took off his grey tuxedo jacket, "for what urgent matter did you request this meeting, Siegel?" a hint of curiosity and excitement evident on his usual stoic face; Patrick remained silent waiting for the blond man to respond.

"Always going right to the point," smiled Siegel, "you never liked turning around the bush." After sipping his champagne he resumed, "From today onwards, I am quitting our little partnership."

Patrick stilled in his place, whereas Ulen's eyes widened, it took them both a few minutes to process the information which was just given. Anger started to boil within the two men; they tried their best to remain calm and not burst out yelling.

"I believe we agreed from the start that no partner shall quit." Patrick pointed out, his hand firmly gripping the glass.

"What is the meaning of this, Siegel?" asked Ulen, shooting him a threatening glare.

Noticing his partners' anger and restlessness, Siegel started laughing eagerly, much to their annoyance.

"You should ease up a little, both of you," regaining his composure, he continued, "I didn't mean it like that; actually I am leaving the post to my heir. I believe that starting the business from a young age will be beneficent. Of course I will supervise her every step, since she still hasn't finished Med School to take over the hospital yet."

Patrick let out a sigh of relief, but his anger was not completely gone. He had always hated this part of Siegel's personality, and he was pretty sure Ulen felt the same.

"I see," he pushed himself to talk and break the tension, "true that would be very beneficial. Athrun started taking part of the business not long ago, how about you Ulen?"

Ulen, who had kept a solemn silence, smirked after a while, "I think I have an idea."

Patrick pointed out, "Your smirk says it all."

Getting up from his seat, Ulen walked to the large wooden bookcase on his left. He gracefully tugged out a file replete of papers and displayed it in front of his companions.

"How about we let our rightful heirs meet, and discuss our next project?" suggested Ulen.

The three men knew the extent of this suggestion and the potential risks as their successors were still novices in the field, but for some reason they all wanted to see it happen.

"You want them to work together?" Siegel raised a brow, "I must say that it is a good idea."

"True, starting now would strengthen their bond and partnership. But," Patrick eyed Ulen suspiciously, "thinking about it, we never got to know who your heir is, Ulen."

"Athrun and my daughter both know each other, but who is your heir?" asked Siegel, "probably not Kira, right? He doesn't know about this."

"I shall admit it is not Kira," smirked Ulen, "my rightful heir was born doing this business, and is quite skilled. You will get to know who it is tomorrow at their meeting."

"You're not going to say you have a secret child, are you?" Patrick laughed.

"That would be very cliché!" Siegel smiled.

"Who knows," Ulen sipped his champagne and smirked, "who knows?"

The redhead felt that something would definitely go wrong tonight.

Definitely.

Not only she was wearing a _very_ short and tight purple dress that made her three sizes very evident –much to her displeasure –, but Meyrin was also walking down the main road of Heliopolis with her older sister, whom was definitely enjoying men looking at her.

Wearing a short tight black dress, Lunamaria Hawke was feeling like a Hollywood star walking elegantly on her high heels.

Tonight was the long awaited party that Kira Hibiki was hosting for his birthday. He was the son of a well-known tycoon and everyone wanted to attend the party which was held at the Josh-A nightclub.

To be honest, Meyrin Hawke didn't know this Kira, she heard of him and saw his pictures frequently, he was quite famous, but she never talked to him nor met him.

So, how the hell were they going to attend that party? Only rich kids and such had invitations.

"Say, onee-chan, we know no one, how are we going to get in?" she asked trying to stretch down her dress to hide her revealed legs.

"Stop wimping, Meyrin! I told you not to worry about that!" the older sibling reprimanded.

"But why did I have to wear such a dress? You know that don't like it!"

Sighing, Lunamaria stopped and put both hands on her sister's shoulders, "Listen, we've always been the smart spoilt little girls of our parents, our whole life we did nothing but studying to get into prestigious colleges, we've never lived our teen days like others."

Letting go of her she looked at the starry sky, "But now, everything is different! We're not underage anymore; we can do whatever we want! Drinking, partying, everything! And the best part is that we don't live with our parents anymore!"

"But-"

"No buts!" exclaimed Lunamaria putting her index finger on her sister's lips, "live for a bit!"

"O-okay." The redhead muttered.

The sisters resumed walking, and Meyrin started thinking of what her sister just said; true, they had always been playing the role of the perfect daughters to make their parents proud, they never went out with their friends, never partied, never drank, nothing.

In high school, Lunamaria was popular amongst the student, boys and girls; she was beautiful, smart and athletic; had a strong character and resolve; while Meyrin was the dull younger sister, smart and weird.

But now that was going to change, Meyrin decided to change.

She made it to the prestigious PLANT Med School, while her sister was in the Orb School of Architecture, both situated in the Capital Heliopolis. Their parental house was in Panama which was about six hours away from here; evidently, they lived in a rented studio.

"We've arrived!" almost yelled Lunamaria, suppressing the urge to jump of happiness; turning to her sister she declared, "Listen, from now on you do nothing but smile and nod to everything I say, okay?"

The redhead nodded, and stood still with her sister across the street.

The loud music could be heard from the outside of the big nightclub, it was a colorful place shining in that dark night; expensive cars were driven into the parking, many beautiful –no, hot girls and very attractive men were standing in the waiting file, obviously, uninvited people wanting to attend the party– just like them; while some others walked by the file and entered easily to the club upon handing their invitation cards.

Then, the question popped in again in her head: how were they going to get in? But decided to shut up and do exactly what her sister told her to. Both young girls stood there for several minutes, analyzing the scene; it was only when a white Mercedes Benz stopped in front of the club and its driver gave the keys to one of the guards, that Lunamaria blurted, "Now!"

Walking in a hurry to catch up with her sister, she heard the latter call out, "Hey, Dearka!"

The blonde man who just got down of that expensive Mercedes turned around and looked at them approaching him, with a raised brow. To Meyrin's surprise, and the blonde's enjoyment, Lunamaria jumped at him pressing her breasts to his chest, "Hey, it's been a while~"

Meyrin was at loss of words, her sister wasn't talking, she was moaning! Since when did she know such a guy? She never told her about him!

"Hey there little pussies." Dearka smirked, and the younger sibling felt hesitant for a moment, "well, shall we go?"

"Of course!" cried Lunamaria, "come on Meyrin." She winked at her sister.

Putting his hand on her butt, Lunamaria flinched but welcomed the sudden action, making the blonde's grin widen. Meyrin simply tagged along, trying to be as secretive as she could. Said Dearka stated that the two girls were with him, and automatically the doors flew open.

Soon enough, Meyrin was inside the most famous nightclub of Heliopolis. Her eyes settled on the crowd that was dancing on the rhythm of the loud music and forgot all about her sister who disappeared.

She was seeing red, then green, then purple; the colors were changing regularly. The redhead then found herself walking towards the dance floor with the music enchanting her senses. The silver disco ball kept on turning, men were looking at her with lust, she was mixed with the crowd and started moving her body; she was pressed from all parts, she didn't mind it.

She didn't mind at all.

For the first time in years, she felt alive and free.

She grabbed the handsome guy that was dancing next to her and kissed him, she couldn't believe what she just did but just went on with the flow, it felt good, it felt _right_. She opened her mouth and he deepened the kiss, moaning in the process; it was intense, while still dancing her hand found refuge in his hair, and his were running up and down her back. His lips were soft, yet his kisses were hungry.

It was her first kiss, and it tasted like alcohol. She liked it, she loved the feeling he made her feel.

She was unleashed.

If it wasn't for air, they wouldn't have pulled off.

Breathing heavily, she looked at him sliming shyly; he was a handsome brunette. Smiling back he grabbed her hand and pulled them out of the dancing floor to sit at the bar.

"Two shots of tequila." He ordered; she felt him undressing her with his eyes, he didn't bother introducing himself, and neither did she. She knew what this was all about and how it would end.

But she wasn't going to stop mid-way.

Finally spotting Kira amongst the crowd, Cagalli sighed when she saw him talking to Lacus Clyne; truth to be told, Cagalli did not like the pinkette that much. There were many things about her that could not help but make the blonde irritated, like the fact that she was _daddy's perfect little angle_ , or the fact that she was too clingy for Cagalli's taste. Lacus did obviously did not understand Kira despite loving him deeply; she would call and text him several times during the day, go out frequently on dates –she did not comprehend what personal space meant.

Cagalli rolled her eyes; she couldn't blame Kira for not having an interest in the girl. After all, men were all the same, they wanted challenge, not an easy shot. And that is exactly what he found in his current girlfriend.

Walking to the bar she ordered a Black Velvet and upon receiving her cocktail, the blonde notified her subordinates via her ear hook talkie-walkie to keep an eye on Kira, "If anything suspicious happens notify me, I will be on the rooftop."

Unnoticed by her, she was being watched by a certain bluenette.

Opening the door of the rooftop, she wished that no stupid couple decided to make-out on there this time, and her wish was granted. She sat on the edge of the grid and watched the world under her, sipping her drink.

If some was to see her, she would be called crazy. Of course no sane person would sit on the edge; they'd be too afraid to fall. And she wasn't, because she was already in the depths of the gulf.

All her life, Cagalli wondered why things turned out like this; how she came to be like _this_ , she was supposed to be a normal person, a normal little girl. But not everyone was the same; the world doesn't work that way, she inhaled the intoxicating air, balancing her legs in the void like a child, _'Is it okay to be like this, dad?'_

But the thoughts died as soon as she remembered the purpose of her existence; she was _allowed_ to live only to do her job. That undeniable fact didn't sound depressing as it did a few years ago; she learned how to deal with her miserable life when she understood that there was no escaping of the terrible Hibiki family.

Speaking about Hibiki, she wondered what Kira the daddy's-little-stupid-heir-kind-of-guy was doing right now. He must've ditched that little miss perfect by now.

"What are you doing there?" a voice called out. Cagalli knew to who belonged that voice, and cursed when she turned her head to meet those captivating eyes of his.

' _What the fuck is_ he _doing here?'_

"You're deaf, or what?" he mocked, approaching her, never breaking their intense eye contact.

"Who are you?" Cagalli asked, feigning ignorance. She perfectly knew who he was, but he didn't need to know that, right?

"No, _who are you_?" he corrected.

"I asked first."

"And I want to know first." He narrowed his eyes, putting his hands in his pants pockets. Sighing, the blonde resumed her deed of drinking and gazing at the non-starry beautiful sky.

She muttered, "Just leave, I'm really not in the mood of dealing with your crap, kid."

"What if I don't want to leave?" he asked, ignoring her last comment; he wanted to put this woman in his bed, so he wouldn't want to make her angry, right?

Finishing her drink, she let go of the glass in the void and heard as it shattered in the dark, "simple; I'll leave then." She jumped back and started walking to the door, only to find him in her face.

"Then, I'll stop you." He smirked.

Sighing for the nth time, she asked, annoyed, "What the hell do you want, blueberry kid?"

Vulgar and beautiful; he liked it.

"Just want to know your name." he said in a low sexy tone; making her even more irritated.

"A guest, just like you." She crossed her arms to her chest, clearly understanding the men's scheme.

"I don't think so," he commented, "Kira doesn't know people like you."

Cagalli was starting to get really pissed by the minute, did the idiot have a death wish?

"Plus, a normal girl would never attend a fancy party with no make-up and wearing green military trousers, a red t-shirt and a leather jacket." He added.

' _Tch, he is quite observant.'_ She thought, clicking her tongue, then smirked, "Maybe I am Kira's special guest?"

Laughing lightly, he approached her and touched her hair, "he is my best friend, he tells me everything, and he definitely didn't talk about you."

"He is such an honest friend," not minding his hand playing with a strand of her hair, she closed the distance between their faces and whispered in his ears,

"But, why aren't you honest with him as he is with you?"

Her sudden comment made him flinch; taking a step back, he glared at her.

Smiling triumphantly to herself, she resumed exiting the rooftop, when he asked one more time,

"Who are you?"

Stopping at the door frame she turned her head and looked at his emerald eyes, smirking,

"We will meet again, Zala."

As soon as the bartender brought the drinks, she seized her glass and drank it in one big gulp, much to her partner's surprise. The bitter liquor burned through her throat and stomach, and a sudden dizziness took over her; Meyrin could not help but grimace. It was the first time she had tasted real alcohol, because for her liquor candies –which she stole from her father's study room– did not count as an experience.

After the brunette drank his own glass, he took possession of her hand and resumed guiding her through the club. Meyrin was uncertain of her choice and feelings for a moment, she never thought that she would one day do this kind of thing, the _kind of thing_ that would make her parents disappointed, that would make people give her venomous judging glances hid behind giggles. However, her uneasiness dissolved easily when she noticed that the world was not revolving around; people danced, kissed and drank, the club was full, but no one cared to look at her.

It was some kind of freedom.

The corridors seemed like a maze, colored, lively and sensational; they stopped walking and he slammed her on a door. Her head felt heavy and her stomach seemed to be playing dirty games, but the hot sensation she felt thundering in her whole body when he slid his hand between her tights made her forget about everything –whilst the other hand tried desperately to open the door.

He did not let go of her for a moment and simply pushed the door closed with his foot. Meyrin guessed that the guy was someone rich and important as the room seemed to be a fancy one, but she didn't get to take a good look at her surroundings as he started kissing her roughly.

Without further thoughts or worries, she smacked her body with his and placed her leg between his which made him jerk in pleasure. He then pulled her down on the king-sized bed making her sit comfortably on his knees; his left hand travelled from her waist to her back, unzipping her dress and running his hot fingers up and down. Meyrin grabbed his hair with both hands, moaning between the hungry kisses of her companion. And a high rush of pleasure ran down him when she put her hand on his hardening manhood. He threw her on the bed and roughly tore off her dress –she thought for a moment about her sister nagging later on about the ruined dress, but every single thought she was having was washed away as he cupped and _squeezed_ her bare breasts with his big hands. Unknowingly he had taken off both her bra and his shirt.

Meyrin took a long lingering look at the topless built of the young man –oh, how hot were his six packs!

She let out soft moans as he massaged her breasts while licking and biting her neck, her inexperienced hands traveled his worked torso and back. She was suffocating; the sweet smell of his cologne was hypnotizing. When he finished teasing her pulse with his tongue, he moved down to her breasts, and then to her _special place_ ; she was trembling under his _command_ , she held tightly the sheets, she was losing _it_.

With his mouth he worked on her right breast, with his left hand he worked on her left breast, and with the index of his right hand he _teased_ her womanhood which was covered by her white panties. He drew invisible circles and she felt herself being torn out from the inside, and something ran down from her.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she felt him taking off her panties; the brunette started by inserting one single finger into her. And she moaned harder. The long, thin finger inside of her teased her with long and slow moves, and when she was about to object the harsh treatment, a sudden brutal second finger tore her. The redheaded young girl cried with hurting pleasure.

His fingers felt cold against her humid walls, and he started thrusting _faster, harder_ , and Meyrin could only let out choked moans.

It felt wonderfully delirium.

"You are soaking wet," He said, voice hoarse, and she then felt a sudden emptiness, realizing that he took out his fingers. The brunette looked at her with hungry eyes as he stopped every movement –much to her dislike – to insert the fingers wet with her fluids inside of her mouth. "I love it."

Meyrin moaned against his finger which had her _taste_ ; it was salty and not that tasty, but it was definitely erotic. She licked one last time his finger as he took them out of her mouth. The brunette traveled from her throat to her stomach giving her butterfly kisses, and when he arrived to her entrance, he took out his tongue and licked it lightly from the outside making her shiver.

He ignored his throbbing, hard member and positioned his head between her tights as he lifted her hips. The brunette kissed her external lips, then traced them with his wet tongue. Meyrin choked and unconsciously grabbed his head. He chuckled and breathed against her entrance before sliding in his tongue, and Meyrin rolled down her head.

She knew it would feel good, but not _that good_ ; like most hormonal teenagers, Meyrin had watched several porn movies while trying to masturbate, but it never worked and she stopped trying to please herself. Her friends recommended her sextoys, but those things scared her.

A series of in and outs succeeded using both tongue and fingers; a tension started to build up in her by the minute, and it didn't take her long to start feeling a hotness in her toes travelling up to her legs.

She finally exploded in million shreds, releasing her everything in the process.

That was definitely the greatest feeling ever.

Meyrin loosened up all her limbs, closed her eyes and started to adjust her body, feelings and breathing. And when she was calmed down, Meyrin opened her eyes to a smirking topless brunette; the sight was stunningly savorsome.

She pushed herself up kissing him lightly, with open eyes muttering millions of silent promises to him, and slid down her hand to open the zipper making her one night stand companion groan.

Meyrin promised to be extremely wild tonight.

* * *

**A/N:**

Before anything: this fiction's **general WARNING:**

**This fanfiction contains dark themes such as self harm, mental illnesses, rape, physical and emotional abuse, incest, PTSD, attempted suicide, graphic depiction of violence and sexual scenes, drug use, underage drinking, and offensive language. If these themes upset or trigger you, do not read any further.**

**This is not rated M for no reason.**

Hello everyone, thank you for reading the first chapter of If There Be Thorns! This story was in my computer for over a year now, everything was tidily planned, but my busy schedule, other fanfictions (and let's face it, laziness) got the best of me, hahaha. Yet here I am posting the first chapter, the very evening of my exams… being a college student is hard, isn't it? T_T

So, concerning the updates, I cannot give an exact time, but I promise to update as soon as I can.

I hope you enjoyed this first chapter; beware, this ride is a hurtful one :3

Read and leave me a review to prompt me write more! :D

See ya~

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed and GS:Destiny, this is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.  
> Theme Song: Ed Sheeran - Shape of You.  
> Warning: mild sexual content.  
> Enjoy!

 

**Chapter Two: Let's Party, Baby!**

The deafening noise was unfamiliar to Shiho's ears, for her who was raised in a different environment. It felt odd, very odd; for the first time since she began dating Yzak, she felt that they really  _were_  from two different worlds.

She did know that he was the typical hot, rich and brilliant man who studied in a prestigious college; she never thought that, a guy like him would date a girl  _like her_ , because such scenario happened only in movies, never in real life. Yet, there she was; her, the typical average looking, poor and nerdy woman. She sighed profoundly; she would be lying if she said she never thought about breaking-up with him, not because he was 'dull and high-tempered' as he once described himself, but because she knew that such a relationship had no future.

The brunette knew that his family, precisely his mother, loved to control his life.

For Shiho, he was also the type of guy who would be dragged into a forced business marriage.

Even if she was spending a nice moment, she felt lonely and sad and thus broke the intense kiss they were having in one of the VIP lounges.

"Is something wrong, Shiho?" the sliver haired man asked; her sudden dull expression worried him.

"No it's nothing; my head is hurting me a bit." She bit her lower lip; she wanted this evening to end well, why did her brain work on such problems in such times?

She noticed him running an anxious hand through his hair, averting his eyes;  _'Great, now I've done it.'_  Before she was able to speak she saw him turning his head. Following him gaze, her eyes fell on a very familiar pinkette.

Yzak got up and exchanged greetings with the young woman before introducing them to each other.

"Shiho this is Lacus Clyne, Kira's fiancée."

Of course Shiho knew who Lacus was, everyone knew who Lacus was: the infamous beauty with an angel's voice, and precious pearl of the Eternal Inc. record label.

The two girls smiled at each other before Lacus asked in a worried tone,

"Have you perhaps seen Kira?"

"I saw him sitting in the bar a few moments before we came here, right Yzak?" the brunette was first to answer.

"Yes, he was. But now, I cannot find him anywhere."

Yzak stood silently between the two women, he knew where Kira was, more precisely, he knew with  _who_  Kira was. The grey haired man felt sympathy for Lacus, she was the nicest person he knew and he could not help but be angry with Kira for hurting such a lady in such a way.

She deserved so much better, and maybe deep down, she knew it.

_'_ _He's upstairs, in the V.I.P room number fifteen and he is with—'_

"Yzak?" Shiho called out, making him jump out of his thoughts.

"He must be in the crowds, I'll go look for him. Stay here with Shiho, I'll be right back." He responded before hurrying out of the lounge.

Shiho looked at his back disappearing behind the blinding lights; something was off, she felt that Yzak was somehow… _troubled_ , which was totally out-of-character. He was the kind of man that never showed his worries or spoke about his troubles, trying to act cool and composed. She could not help but wonder why he flinched at Lacus' question.

The brunette smiled awkwardly at the pinkette who sat in front of her; she was not used to meet with celebrities, even less sitting and talking to them in person. She sighed profoundly; meeting Yzak had drastically changed her lifestyle.

"So," Lacus started, "How did you meet Yzak?"

Shiho could not help but look with wide eyes at her interlocutor, making the latter blush of embarrassment.

"I-if it is a personal question, don't mind me; please pardon my curiosity." The pinkette apologized averting her eyes.

Meeting Yzak really did change her life; she burst out laughing heartily. She felt somehow relieved of a weight she had been carrying on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Shiho smiled, regaining her composure, "Your question took me by surprise, and I'm not really accustomed to such places and all. No need to apologize."

Lacus flashed back a smile, "Truth to be told, neither am I." She said, putting a strand of her silky pink hair behind her ear, "I only come to these places accompanied by Kira, and if it wasn't for him, I would not come here in first place."

The two girls eyed each other before bursting in soft giggles; Shiho was first to recover, she looked at herself: a simple grey dress to the knees, black heeled sandals, her mother's ring and the gold necklace Yzak brought for her in her birthday… maybe… Maybe it was okay. It was fine to live a life like this, she could do it; she will do it. She will stop being  _that_  Shiho and stop dwelling in the past.

"On one certain foul day, an irritated customer accidently spilled his hot coffee on me during my shift in a local coffee shop where I work." Shiho started, catching the attention of the pinkette idol, "Said customer blamed  _me_ for spilling his coffee and subconsciously I started shouting back at that customer." The brunette noticed as Lacus' mouth formed a small 'o' signifying her shock.

"The verbal fight got pretty much heated, and my manager had to meddle in to stop it. Being the thickheaded he was, he did not want to apologize nor did he accept the apology my manager forced out of me." She recalled, her eyebrows twitched at remembering that day, "I thought –and hoped– it was the last day I would be seeing that customer, but he happened to be a regular who came twice a week."

"And he still comes?" Lacus asked, eyebrows furrowed out of concern and Shiho chuckled, "Yes he does."

She brought her hand to her chin and commented, "What an impolite customer, I cannot believe he dared shouting at a lady!"

Shiho chuckled, "You don't say…" and brought the cup of liquor to her lips, "What about you?" lacus titled her head a little, not understanding her question.

"What about you, how did you meet Kira Hibiki? It must be a love like in the fairytales."

Kira was the most sensitive subject for Lacus. She had absolutely no idea how to answer the questions that most people –especially the media– dropped on her. It was not love at first sight, it was not a Grimm fairytale and it was most definitely not the perfect and ideal relationship everyone thought it was.

Lacus first met Kira after the death of her mother; his father had been a long time friend of Siegel, and the former started to come more often to their house after the funeral accompanied by his son, who later on proved to be a great emotional support to her. They were nine years old at that time and they had bonded very well; at that time, Lacus did not understand quite well her emotions. She grew up by Kira and Athrun's side, her only friends; while she regarded Athrun as a brother, the pinkette has grown even fonder of the brunette over the years. A fondness which blossomed into love, and so she lived trying to cope with his playboy tendencies whilst burying her feelings, up until her father announced that he had decided alongside Ulen of her engagement to Kira.

"I met him when I was young as our fathers were old acquaintances. Truth to be told," Lacus said with much difficulty, lowering her eyes, "our relationship is not as perfect as the media makes it look like."

Shiho bite the inside of her cheek; she had unknowingly asked about something sensitive and she hated the fact that she just hurt the woman in front of her.

"He does take me on fancy dates, we do travel together, we do attend events together and all, but our relationships lacks of something very essential, something very  _important_. I am still waiting for him to cross the bridge that is between us, so that we can finally be."

"It was very inconsiderate of me to ask, I'm very sorry."

"Oh, please don't be." Lacus smiled, "I was actually glad to speak of it, I don't have many friends, you know."

Before Shiho could retort back, Yzak made his grand entrance, "I'm sorry," he said, directing his gaze to the cup of liquor on the table, "I couldn't find him." And said nothing more.

Yzak tried his best to not make eye contact with the pinkette, so instead his eyes fell on his girlfriend's, who quickly took notice of his restlessness.

"I see." Lacus said quietly, then turned to Shiho and slightly bowed, "I had a good time, thank you. I will be delighted to speak with you another time."

"Same goes for me."

Lacus smiled and started walking when Shiho called, "Miss Lacus!"

"Lacus is fine." The latter turned around and responded, and the brunette smiled.

"That customer," she said, gaining a curious raised brow from Yzak, "His name was Yzak Joule."

As Lacus' mouth hung open for a few seconds, Yzak's cheek got tainted by a faint blush, understanding what she was talking about. The pinkette hushed a small chuckle and once again bid them goodbye, "Please take good care of her, Yzak." She said, and left.

Upon exiting the lounge, Lacus stepped inside the noisy main dance floor of the club. It was as crowded as earlier, and she walked with difficulty toward the back exit that gave direct access to the parking lot –leaving from the front door would not be wise. Closing the door behind her, she took out her smartphone out of her hand purse and sent a message to both Kira and Athrun to notify them of her leaving, then proceeded in calling her chauffeur.

She stood silently, flipping through her pictures with Kira. The diva let out a soft disappointed sigh, she had wanted to give Kira a memorable birthday present; today she was willing to give up on her virginity for the man she loved the most, but nothing went according to the plan. Lacus knew of Kira's past playboy's adventures that he had –fortunately– stopped after their engagement. Despite her ardent love for him, her fiancé never expressed with words his feelings for her; true, he occasionally did small gestures for her that would seem to be some kind of affection –like kisses. But he had never, not even once, touched her or gave the hint that he wanted to.

Of course, Lacus knew that love did not need to involve sex, but she also knew what every 21st century man wanted  _and_  needed. So she deduced that he was maybe cheating on her, but was it really cheating? As their engagement was purely a contract between their fathers, Lacus had accepted only because she was in love with Kira. But what about Kira? He had never given her his opinion regarding their engagement, and of all people Lacus was the first who believed that he would refuse such a thing.

Then, one could imagine the shock of people when they heard that he had accepted.

The pinkette hated lying, but ever since she became Kira's fiancée, lying became a habit. She would lie frequently to hide both her feelings and cover up for Kira; worrying her surroundings was something she vowed to never do, so lying was the only option she had.

Lacus was brought out of her reverie upon hearing her phone ringing, he heart skipped a beat thinking it was Kira, but she was disappointed once again when she read  _Athrun_.

"Hello." She said.

_"_ _Hey, have you left already?"_

"No, I'm in the parking lot waiting for my chauffeur to pick me up."

_"_ _Good, wait there, I'm coming."_

"Oka–" Before she could even answer, he had already hung up. Lacus held her phone in her hand, looking at it pensively. Athrun was such a gentleman; even if it hurt to say it, she had always thought that he treated her more properly than Kira. Maybe it would have been better if she had fallen in love with him instead. She would have probably been happier if her father got her engaged with him instead.

But love was a weird phenomenon. You don't have a choice in it, it just… _happens._ Just like that, magically. You wake up one fine morning with a heart pounding with love and passion.

Sometimes it comes with that entire sparkling red atmosphere around it, following you everywhere, making sweet words adorn your tongue, and having your eyes shine. It comes with reciprocated feelings and shared passion. It is lived in peace and harmony; its hardships crossed like they were nothing but small dust on a desk

Unfortunately, most of times, it comes with dark clouds hanging above you. Rejected, unreciprocated, abused… there are several ways of being hurt and Lacus believed that a silent relationship was the hardest one of them.

Lacus turned her head at the sound of her Ferrari car stopping next to her; the engine was turned off and her chauffeur came out of the driver's seat, "I apologize for making you wait, my lady."

"It's alright." She responded –she was too tired emotionally to smile. Her chauffeur proceeded in opening the passenger seat for her, but she raised her hand to stop him. "Please wait for a bit." Upon finishing her sentence, the creaky sound of the backdoor being opened was heard, and the blue haired young man appeared from behind it. Athrun approached the two in wide footsteps. The chauffeur bowed, closed the door of the car and went back to his seat, leaving the two young people to talk in their ease.

Lacus deduced from the sweat on his forehead and his quick breathing that Athrun had come there running, she smiled sadly, her heart really chose the wrong person.

"Why are you leaving already?" He asked, trying to catch a breath –despite knowing the foreordained answer.

"I am tired, and I have a busy schedule tomorrow." She lied with perfection.

Athrun was now used to her frequent lies to cover up for Kira's mistakes, as much as he wanted to hit Kira and yell at Lacus to open her eyes on the reality, he also always reacted the same way.

"I see. It's such a shame."

The same lies.

The same smiles.

The same… every time.

He bid her goodbye, opened and closed the door of the car for her; "Notify me when you get home." He said through the open window. She nodded, and he watched as the car disappeared upon exiting the parking lot. The bluenette sighed, scratched the back of his head and walked back inside of the club; he could do nothing more.

Being single since two nights ago, Athrun's urge to bed a girl was very strong at the moment. His eyes lingered on many women, but none pricked his interest as he still had the image of that blonde young woman tormenting him. Who in the world was she? She seemed to know exactly who he was. Had he met her before? No, he was sure he did not, because Athrun was a fucker with a great memory who remarkably remembers everything to an embarrassing extent –as quoted by Yzak.

There was one explanation left: she was one of the bodyguards of Kira. Athrun frowned. If so, then there were only two places where he could find her. In the backstage, or the floor of Kira's room.

Choosing the second place, Athrun set off to the stairs that led to the VIP rooms. Athrun had always liked the Josh-A nightclub as it was more than just a nightclub; it contained a small underground casino, lounges, and bedrooms –or as Dearka liked to call them,  _fuckrooms._

Kira's room rested in the third floor, and Athrun cracked a smile upon noticing bodyguards extending from the second floor to the third. He was almost there, and this time he was more than adamant to bring that blonde to his bed. However before he could climb anymore steps, his eyes caught the sight of a fragile redheaded girl surrounded by three men. His feet stopped in their place,  _'Seriously, now of all times?'_ Athrun rubbed his blue hair as if it could clear his thoughts, and then decided to go and be that girl's knight in a shining armor.

He put his hands in his jeans pockets and walked toward them. The young girl, who was seeking support from the door, seemed heavily drunk and the three were taking advantage of it.

"Come with us, you won't regret it,  _missy_ ~" one of them said. Athrun shook his head in disapproval of the people who invaded Kira's parties.

"Excuse me," Athrun called out, earning the attention of the three who threw him glares for the disturbance.

"What do you want kid?" another asked, annoyance written all over his face.

The blue haired heir inhaled deeply,  _'This is not what I signed for.'_ Athrun was so going to make Kira pay for this. "I want that lady."

"What?" the muscular one of the three growled as he stood up in front of Athrun. "I didn't catch it, what did you say, _kid?_ "

They were getting on Athrun's nerves. Muscles were not the answer to everything…come on! Guns exist!

"I want you to keep your hands off that lady." He said, emphasizing each word. Soon the redhead was shortly forgotten and the three men circled Athrun who looked smugly at the one who dared to grab his by the collar.

Those guys were so going to pay for this later on.

"Is there a problem you need my assistance in, mister Athrun?" the bodyguard who had been standing at the stairs said as he approached them. He was a well-build man who looked like those wrestlers shown on TV. The three men tensed when their eyes fell on the gun he had, and Athrun smiled.

The usual thugs: all barks but no bites.

"No thank you, everything is fine here." He answered, turning to the men, "Right?"

One of them nervously nodded and a second said, poking with his shoulder his friend, "We have some affairs to attend. We should leave."

"You sure do." Athrun mimicked.

The three ran away, their tails between their legs. Suddenly, the redheaded girl lost to gravity and her body fell onwards, but luckily, Athrun caught her on time. He thanked his good reflexes in the back of his head, while trying to ignore the sweet perfume of the girl.

"Do you know who this girl is?"

"No sir. But I believe she was in that room." He said, pointing at the door behind Athrun. "Want me to take care of her?"

To Athrun, that sounded like a wonderful idea, but a voice in him was whispering that this girl was his responsibility.  _'Fuck it.'_ He will find that blonde woman some other time, for now, the redhead was the priority. "I can manage."

The bodyguard nodded and walked back to his appointed place.

Athrun escorted the girl back to the room. The bed was messy, evident traces of intercourse were visible and Athrun previously noticed from her stand that she was a virgin. He chuckled; virgins at such an age were rare. He laid her on the bed and started his search. A bottle of vodka was present on the nightstand and next to it rested an empty bottle that Athrun guessed to have contained some kind of drugs. The blue haired young man looked at the redhead and wished profoundly that she has been given only a small amount. Scattered on the floor next to the nightstand was a smartphone; he took possession of it and slid the screen open. Athrun thanked the lords that it did not contain a password.

He first flipped through the pictures to ensure that it was undoubtedly the redhead's phone. There happened to be several album, and  _too many_ pictures. That girl was apparently obsessed with taking pictures. Going back to the menu, he entered the personal information of the phone's owner and read:  _Meyrin Hawk._

 _'_ _Cute name for a cute lady'_ , he thought as he slid down the screen looking for her address. Bingo! There it was. Her place was only half an hour away from there, and Athrun decided that the sooner was the better.

Athrun took off his jacket and put in on the fainted girl, then proceeded in holding her in princess-style and made his way toward the parking lot. He had chosen to take the back way to avoid finding his name and pictures on tomorrow's headlines.

The girl,  _Meyrin_ , slept peacefully through the entire road. Honestly, Athrun thought as dazzling lights of light poles ran past them one by one, why had this girl been to Kira's party? She was plain, with not much make up on, and wore a cheap dress. She was obviously not one of the invited guests; then she must've had her way through to the party. A guy probably; yeah…that would be the only explanation.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes; Athrun felt sorry for her, because she did not give off the impression to be  _that type_ of girl. But then, appearances can be deceiving.

The road was clear, and Athrun thanked the God for that, given that traffic jam was what he hated most. Arriving to destination, the blue haired young man exited the car to first analyze the surroundings; it was a plain sight, normal neighborhood. The place of the girl was on the building right in front of him, so he proceeded in taking Meyrin out of the car and carried her princess-style all the way through.

It was until he arrived to the door that his mind remembered one crucial detail: the key. Meyrin had no key on her.

Good heavens, how could he be so stupid?

Now what? Was he supposed to ask one of the neighbors to take her in for the time being? Heck no. It was past midnight, she was wearing party clothes, and a charming dude took her home, it would only make gossips arise, and that was the last thing Athrun wanted.

"Meyrin, hey Meyrin…" he called sotto voce, but the redhead did not seem to have heard him. She was sleeping, maybe passed out because of the drugs, there was no way she could give him a proper answer even if she opened her eyes.

Athrun then thought, his eyes lost on her porcelain face. Meyrin had went to a party and found her with a phone only. No bag, no keys. Maybe she had came a car and left all her possessions there, or she came knowing that there would be someone home to open the door for her –that is if she was planning on going back home. Automatically, the blue haired young man rang the door bell, once, twice, and thrice. No response. He decided to stop in fright of waking the neighbors.

It was only when the girl moaned against his chest, and noticed how cold her body was, that he remembered a cliché scene that popped up in almost every movie: a key hidden under the door carpet. He snorted, and thought how stupid it was, but decided to give it a try. Athrun slowly cropped down, holding her even tightly, and turned over the door carpet, skeptical and hopeful. Unfortunately for him, there was no key.

He internally face palmed at his stupidity; he really should've left her in the care of that bodyguard. What was he supposed to do now? Rent her a room in a local hotel, or take her home?

Heck, no.

Then, his attention shifted to two plant pots standing at the extremities of the door, and his mind went back to the cliché scene. A try wouldn't hurt anyone –only his dignity, though. His eyebrows twitched when he was met with no key under the right pot. Athrun inhaled deeply and tried the second, and there it was: the apartment key in all its glory.

 _'_ _A key, there was an actual frigging key under the pot.'_ Athrun knew that this night will be forever engraved in his memory. He took possession of the key and tucked it in the lock, opening the creaky door.

Athrun stepped in, with Meyrin still in his arms, and turned on the lights. He was met with a white painted hall that led him to a small living room with an American styled kitchenette. It was a small flat with two apparent bedrooms. Athrun entered the room that had 'Meyrin' written on it. The bedroom was simple: grey walls, small bed, nightstand, a study and a closet. His nose twitched under the sweet smell that dwelled the pinkette's room as his eyes took a glance at the young girl in hands; Athrun shook his head and quickly put her in her bed, yanking the covers over her. The blue haired young man walked to close the curtains and hurriedly made his way out of the bedroom.

The fancy watch in his hand notified him of the time. Athrun exited the apartment, locked the door behind him, and when he was about to slip the key under the door, he suddenly stopped. The bluenette let out s soft hum, deciding that he still had a few errands to run for Meyrin before retreating.

After all, despite being a dirty person, Athrun was still a gentleman.

* * *

Lunamaria would be lying if she said that she had better.

She was currently lying on the king sized bed after having a mind blowing sex with the famous blond beast, who had disappeared minutes earlier in the bathroom.

Not only she was at the party held by Kira Hibiki in the Josh-A nightclub, but she had actually slept with Dearka. Making her way to the party through Dearka Elsman was probably the best idea she had ever had. Further into the matter, Lunamaria wasn't willing to let go of this opportunity to be part of the rich kids' friend circle.

Being away from her parent, Lunamaria was finally given the chance to be the person she had been keeping repressed. The time had come to change her life forever.

Dearka came out of the bathroom and started grabbing his scattered clothes. It took her few minutes to notice that Dearka was, in fact, putting back his clothes on. Her eyebrows met in a furrow, "Where are you going?"

"To find my next prey."

"What about me?" She asked, clearly offended.

"You lied," He answered flatly. Dearka hated liars more than anything else, "You're not a virgin."

"So what? The sex was amazing anyway."

"I had better." The blond shrugged, slamming the door behind him, leaving her dumbfounded.

The only reason Dearka had accepted to let that girl into the club with him was because she had said being a virgin ready to be deflowered. The blond wanted to be the one to do it as it was a favorite deed of his; deflowering girls had to be the best sex he ever had. And right now, Dearka felt disgusted to have wasted his time in what ended up being a plain and boring intercourse, and obviously that girl, whatever her name was, was intending to turn their one night stand into something more.

Many women clung to Dearka after their one night stand, much to his dislike, uttering silly words to his ears,  _'I want to tend the broken child in you'_ ,  _'We can get through this together'_ ,  _'This is not what you want, I know that.'_  Seriously, did they think he was the tragic protagonist of a rom-com?

Unlike most of his conquests thought, the blond was not some kind of depressed kid with emotional issues. His parents were both alive and in good health, he had a normal childhood and definitely did not have his heart broken by some girl.

Dearka was not afraid of the emotional attachment called 'love', no, he just did not feel the  _need_  to have it in his life. He had Yzak, Athrun and Kira. Friendships were enough, and there is a code: bros before hoes,  _duh!_

So why bother with a stable relationship with a woman, if he could have multiple ones a day?

Dearka loved women, and enjoyed sex. What more reasons did he need?

He climbed down the stairs back to the club, going past horny people making out in every corner. The sight was turning him on, so he hurried to the bar, ordering an alcoholic drink to refresh his throat.

He smirked, leaning on the counter with a glass of liquor in hand. Men and women threw him lustful looks; Dearka was purely heterosexual, but did enjoy the looks men usually gave him.

Because Dearka was hot, and he knew that much.

He pondered on his choice of women for the night. His eyes travelled to his watch that screamed 2am, and he smirked, making his way to the dance floor.

* * *

It was his birthday, and Kira was enjoying every minute of it. From the joyful morning breakfast with his parents, to the beach outing planned by his friends at noon and the enormous party he had planned months prior.

'Party' should have been his middle name; not a month could go on without Kira throwing at least a party. This addiction to wild parties had started back in high school. He was a rich kid, and could have his way anywhere through money. It was Dearka, who had suggested one day, to go to a club on one summer night instead of attending one their classmate was hosting; they were sophomore students and had made up their minds to go to a real club for once.

Money made everything easy, and a night club was a complete different world that the four friends had enjoyed discovering

Despite being his best friend, Athrun wasn't a big fan of parties like him and most of times turned his invitations down. The blue haired young man preferred hanging out with him in calmer places, even if he had his own wild outbursts from time to time. On the other hand, Dearka was the complete opposite. The blond was always on to party, and Kira adored his enthusiasm. Yzak was the calmest one of them, –probably attending his parties out of courtesy;

Those four friends were different , and sometimes Kira would wonder how they had become so close, and then he would remember the small gestures that mean everything. Like how Yzak knew his favorite food and would always surprise him with something, how Dearka would text him every night to check up on him, or how Athrun understood him with no words exchanged, and for those irreplaceable friendships, Kira was more than grateful.

Aside from them, everyone else was an acquaintance. His father had once told him that the value was more important than the number, and Kira understood what he meant when he grew up. Kira learned that not every person who smiled at him was good news. People mostly surrounded him for the money and the fame.

The same thing applied to his love life; girls roamed over him only for his father's money. Not only one girlfriend turned out to be a greedy person wanting the money; after few disappointments, Kira decided that he shouldn't be the one to have his heart broken anymore. So he did what was best: use people like they used him, and that was how playboy Kira came to be. He used to mess around with several girls at the same time, none of them seemed to bother as they were given what they wanted –and he would dismiss anyone who overstepped their boundaries anyway.

The brunette enjoyed that wild life for several years and wasn't going to stop it anytime soon, even when his father decided to get him engaged to his childhood friend, Lacus.

Kira had no say in that matter; when Ulen Hibiki had his mind set on something, there was no way he could change it. He knew they weren't going to be married anytime soon, Lacus was at the peak of her career and Kira had yet to start working, but he still did not enjoy the situation.

Don't get him wrong, Kira liked Lacus, but he could never reciprocate her love. On top of that, his playboy tendencies aggravated even more during that sensitive period. And suddenly, on one beautiful day, his life changed forever.

Kira met  _her_ , and instantly knew she was the one.

He wasn't one to believe in love at first sight, but it simply  _happened_. All it took him was a simple eye contact.

It had been a day like any other; he was spending time with Athrun at a downtown coffee shop. They had been talking about everything and nothing while stalking Yzak's girlfriend who was working there.

When they had decided it was time to leave, Kira stood up and as he turned around, he bumped into someone. Hot coffee spilled on his shirt, but it wasn't the coffee that burned him, it was something else.

Something bloomed in him when his eyes rested on the beautiful young woman in front of him. She gasped, looking at what happened, saying words that he couldn't catch as he was too lost.

Athrun and the manager ran with him to the men's restroom and took off his shirt, applying first aid. Luckily, as Athrun had said, the damage was superficial. When they came out of the restroom, after the manager brought him a spare shirt, he faced her.

The redhead started apologizing, and Kira took the opportunity to ask her out as to accept her apologies.

His heart had not betrayed him; the girl was wonderful in every sense of the word. She was bright, well mannered, a fan of basket fall, fierce, passionate and loving. However, their relationship did not come easy. She was against the idea of being  _the other woman_ , and it was challenging to get her to accept their current situation. But Kira loved her, and did everything to make her his.

He heard her mutter incoherent words as he poured sweetness into her mouth; his hands roaming on her body as if he was discovering her features for the first time. His mouth travelled down do her neck, kissing, licking and nipping it. They both fell on the bed, tangled up lovingly in each other; their clothes long scattered and long forgotten on the floor.

"Kira…" She moaned as he cupped her breasts and squeezed them gently. She lied on her back, her creamy skin exposed to him. Her red hair mingling with the silk sheets, eyes closes and lips slightly parted. Kira took a moment to capture that image in his mind.

_'_ _A fucking peace of art.'_

Her hands were clutching in his brown messy hair as he moved in a better position. His body was shaking, and he was pretty sure that when he thrust himself inside her, something in him fired up. Pleasure filled them, sweat covered them, and for a moment both had forgotten how to breathe.

Kira started moving in a slow rhythm and his lover let out cries that were lost in the loud music of the club.

" _More!_ " she let out with difficulty, and the brunette fastened up while she pushed back, making him thrust deeper.

She threw her head back, gasping loudly. She felt the familiar sensation wash over her and before she could prolong it any further, she reached her climax, pleasure overwhelming her. Few moments later, she heard Kira calling out her name when he reached his own high, spilling deep inside of her. The two lovers curled up pleasure, tiredness and satisfaction taking over them.

Kira buried his nose in her neck and inhaled deeply. This was everything he ever wanted, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, drawing him closer to her body.

He gazed into her pale captivating blue eyes, drowning in them like every single time. Kira smiled, kissing her nose, "You."

Her…Flay, always, Flay, no one else but  _Flay._

_"_ _I love you."_

* * *

It was way past midnight, but the team was still in the office finishing their reports. It had been a long day of fighting against crime that only ended an hour ago after catching the culprits of a homicide case.

Mu typed the final dot of the report and proceeded in stretching his limbs, humming along the way. First rank detective La Flaga was exhausted; he was only in his early thirties, but was easily exhausted of a casual day of work.

 _'_ _Ah, I'm losing my touch, must get back on track.'_ He thought, eyes travelling on the paperwork on his desk. The sight made the blond grimace.

The blond decided to do it tomorrow as he lit up a cigarette. He leaned comfortably on his swiveling chair and watched his co-workers finish their own reports. The room was calm, a comfortable silence reigned; they were too tired to even speak  _–or bicker_ , like usual.

Mu noticed how tired his friends were, he was apparently not the only one. After all it had been a while since they got a serious case, for the last couple months they had received nothing but small and minor cases, nothing that had them running all day long like today.

Being a detective had been his childhood dream –perhaps the only dream that he ended up truly achieving. He had worked hard to be where he was right now, and Mu had never regretted choosing this profession.

 _'_ _Can't run fast enough to be a killer, so might as well help catch them.'_ That was the motto of their department, written by their department chief Andrew Waltfeld.

Suddenly the door was smacked open with a loud thud and cry. Speaking of the devil, Andrew had finally made his usual grandiose entrance.

Arnold Neumann was the first to voice his worry, as usual, "What's wrong chief?"

"Did Aisha finally dump you?" the only woman of the team, beautiful Natarle inquired with a small smile lifting the corner of her lips. She knew their chief well enough to know that there was absolutely no need to worry. In the meantime, Mu had already made his way to Andrew, sliding a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"No! It is something worse!" Andrew cried out, and Natarle rolled her eyes.

"Did she dumped you and took everything?" Mu added, smirking, but quickly regretted his words when he took a strong hit on the head. The blond whined, stepping away as his hand automatically reached the spot in pain.

Said Aisha was the one who hit him, her brow raised. Mu threw her a sheepish grin, communicating his apologies to the chief's wife. Aisha was a beautiful and kind woman, but when provoked could turn into a furious Artemis, and Mu had long learned to never approach her bad side.

"Then what's with the drama?" Jackie asked, ignoring Mu's apologies to Aisha.

The department chief blew his reddish nose in a handkerchief, then said between sobs, "I have no idea what to get to my daughter for her birthday!"

"Ah…" Natarle shrugged, turning back to her work, "And I thought it could be something serious this time. Guess not."

"It is something serious! You will understand my feelings the day you'll have children!"

"No thank you, I am fine the way I am."

"You shouldn't say something like that Natarle, you'll make a great mother." Aisha scolded, and the two women smiled to each other.

"But chief, wasn't it the birthday of your daughter two months ago?" Arnold pointed out, "We even threw her a party, remember?"

Mu, who had silently walked back to his desk, mused with his cigarette in had, "Yeah, I remember. She even ignored you the entire evening."

"Thank you for hurting my feelings." Andrew deadpanned, standing by the team chief desk.

"Is she still angry with you?" Jackie asked.

"She is." Aisha responded, her face falling as she thought about their daughter.

"It's been three years already, it is time she accepts the truth and move on." Mu said, proposing a cigarette to Andrew in compassion, and the latter gladly accepted it.

"She says we stole twenty-two years of her life with lies," the chief sighed, "And she's right about that."

The room fell into a pregnant silence, no one daring to add anything more. The topic of the Waltfeld couple and their daughter had never been a sensitive one, but only recently. Mu could still remember when Andrew used to bring his little girl to the office and how everyone would pamper her and how she had made their parental instincts explode, but then she had to grow up into a rebel teen who bickered with her equally tough headed father all the time.

Time passed, and unfortunately what was meant to stay buried in the darkness fell right into her hands. And ugly fight ensued, and their daughter moved out from the familial house upon entering university. Now, their twenty two years old daughter was living in a rented apartment with her best friend, and only went back home when needed. While her relationship with Aisha was slowly improving, she was still reluctant to restore her ties with her father.

Andrew was the homicide department chief who took very seriously his work, the only times he let himself be a comical figure was to dissipate tight tension and hide his own sadness and insecurities. Mu felt sympathy for his friend, no one deserved what was happening to them.

"Anyway," Andrew cleared his throat after a long silence, "What's with this calm?"

"We were finishing our reports, there isn't much work, it's pretty calm these days." Jackie leaned into his chair and he stretched his arms.

Natarle who was still typing said, a faint flicker in her eyes betrayed her blank face, "For me it looks like the calm before the storm."

Andrew studied the detectives, his mind travelling where everyone else's did. "There is no news in the Jachin Due case?"

"Nothing, with a capital N." Mu responded, handing him the thin files. The chief flipped through the file, a grimace soon flashing on his face.

"Zala, Clyne and Hibiki..." Andrew said as he threw the empty files on the desk, "The bastards are good at cleaning behind them."

* * *

Cagalli watched the dancing floor from with monotone eyes, leaning on the bar counter.  _It was alright._

It was still early; it did not matter what people were doing: sleeping, studying, partying, having sex, crying, robbing, killing or even committing suicide. It was alright, because the night was still  _young_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally back with the second installment, took me forever, but here at last.  
> The plot is progressing, can't wait to share more with you guys! I wonder if any of you guessed that Flay was Kira's lover!  
> Reviews are always welcomed, I love to read your thoughts!  
> Thank you for everyone who reads this fanfic, see you next chapter.


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